After Theni jailbreak, prison guards manning district jail watchtowers authorised to open fire

All watchtowers in district jails across Tamil Nadu will now have armed prison warders, who have been authorised to open fire when under attack or to prevent a jailbreak, Director General of Police, Prisons, Sandeep Rai Rathore, has said. 

The decision comes on the heels of 17 remand prisoners escaping from the Theni district jail after overpowering the prison staff. 

While 15 of them have been recaptured by the Tamil Nadu police, special teams are continuing combining operations in and around Theni district and forest areas abutting Keralam to apprehend the two other fugitives, police sources said.

Though all prisons have watchtowers, they were previously not manned by armed guards due to a shortage of manpower or other reasons. Following the sensational jailbreak on Monday night, Dr. Rathore held a review meeting with top prison officials and decided to deploy armed prison wardens at watchtowers.

“The prison wardens manning watch towers are authorised to open fire when under attack or when a jailbreak incident occurs,” Dr. Rathore said. 

Fifteen of the 17 escapees were recaptured; two others were still on the run. Preliminary inquiries revealed that they were seen escaping on a motorcycle. “They would not have gone too far. We will be able to nab them in a day or two,” he said. 

Security audit

Dr. Rathore said the process of conducting security audit and gap analysis in all central prisons and district jails was nearing completion. “We will plug all gaps and strengthen the multilayer security barriers. The report and recommendations of the jailbreak incident in Theni will also be carefully analysed for lapses and complacency, if any.”

AI-powered dashboard

Dr. Rathore said a technical team was working on developing an artificial intelligence-powered dashboard containing live data comprising the number of inmates with details of their gender, criminal antecedent, status of incarceration, educational qualification, and health condition, etc. 

The dashboard would also have information about the prison staff on duty and even enable access to surveillance cameras installed on the prison campuses for live visuals. 

Segregation of prisoners

The DGP, Prisons, said that priority would be given to segregation of prisoners so that first-time offenders do not mingle with hardened criminals. Members of a gang that indulged in any crime should not be housed in the same cell or ward. 

“In the Theni jailbreak incident, five prisoners who were part of a sensational crime in the Vikramangalam police station limits in Madurai district were lodged in the same ward. They played a key role in conspiring the escape plan,” Dr. Rathore said.